LOCATION IRA NYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Fragiudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Ira gravelly fine sandy loam - cultivated
(Colors are for moist broken soil.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly
fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable;
many fine roots; 20 percent coarse fragments; strongly acid;
clear smooth boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
B2--8 to 13 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy
loam; very weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine roots; many fine pores; 10 percent coarse fragments; medium acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
A'2--13 to 20 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4)
gravelly fine sandy loam; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; weak thick platy structure; firm; few roots; common fine pores; 20 percent coarse fragments; medium acid;
abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
B'x1--20 to 32 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) gravelly fine sandy loam; common medium and coarse distinct strong brown (7.5YR
5/6), pinkish gray (5YR 6/2) and light brown (7.5YR 6/4)
mottles; weak thick platy structure within moderate very coarse prisms 8 to 24 inches across; very firm, brittle; few roots
between prisms; common fine pores with thin clay linings inside prisms; prisms separated by common fine pores within thin clay linings inside pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) fine sand coats; 30
percent coarse fragments; medium acid; diffuse smooth boundary.
(10 to 20 inches thick)
B'x2--32 to 40 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) gravelly fine sandy loam, common distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles;
massive; very firm, brittle; common fine pores with thin clay linings; 30 percent coarse fragments; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 18 inches thick)
C--40 to 50 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly fine
sandy loam; few fine and medium faint brown (7.5YR 5/4) and
yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; moderate thick lens-like
platy structure; very firm; 40 percent coarse fragments;
calcareous; mildly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Oswego County, New York; Town of Oswego, 100
feet north of County Road 20, 1/4 mile west of Southwest Oswego.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 36 to 60 inches. Depth to carbonates ranges from 3 to 7 feet. Rock
fragments are pebbles, cobbles, and stones and range from 10 to
35 percent by volume in the solum and from 30 to 70 percent in
the C horizon. Common or many distinct or prominant mottles are above the fragipan. Mean annual soil temperature ranges from 47 degrees to 52 degrees F.
The Ap horizon ranges from very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) to brown (7.5YR 5/2). It is fine sandy loam or loam and has weak
or moderate granular structure. It is very strongly acid to
neutral depending upon liming. The B2 horizon ranges from
yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) to reddish brown (5YR 4/3),
inclusive. It is unmottled or has only faint mottles above a
depth of 12 inches. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam or loam
with less than 60 percent silty plus very fine sand. It is structureless or it has very weak granular or subangular blocky structure. The horizon is friable or very friable, and it is strongly or medium acid. The A'2 horizon is lighter in color
than the B2 horizon and is distinctly or prominantly mottled.
It is typically slightly coarser in texture and is less friable
than the B2 horizon.
The Bx horizons range from grayish brown (10YR 5/2) to reddish
brown (5YR 4/4) and have distinct mottles in ped interiors.
They are fine sandy loam or loam. They have very coarse
prismatic structure with or without platy structure in the upper
part and are massive or have platy structure in the lower part.
They are very firm and brittle, and are medium acid to neutral.
The C horizon has ranges similar to the Bx horizon in color and texture and is firm or very firm. It has platy structure or it
is massive. It is slghtly acid to mildly alkaline at the base
of the Bx horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Bath,
Braceville,
Broadalbin, Compton,
Lackawanna,
Ludlow,
Mardin,
Montauk,
Nantucket,
Sodus,
Swartswood,
Wellsboro,
Wethersfield and
Wurtsboro series in the
same family. The
Bombay,
Langford,
Marilla and
Mosherville
series are smiliar soils in related families. Bath, Lackawanna, Mardin and Wellsboro soil have more than 60 percent plus very
fine sand in the particle-size control section. Braceville
soils have stratified sand and gravel in the lower part of the
series control section. Broadalbin soils have coarse fragments dominated by granite and gneiss with a significant component of
soft dark shale. Compton soils have lithochromic chroma of 1 or
2 throughout the soil. Ludlow, Montauk and Wethersfield soils
have sola less than 36 inches thick and lack clay films in the fragipan. Nantucket soils have fragipans that are strongly acid
and are clay loam or silty clay loam in the lower part. Sodus
soils have few or no mottles above the fragipan. Swartswood and Wurtsboro soils are strongly or very strongly acid in the
fragipan. Bombay soils lack a fragipan. Langford soils have an argillic horizon. Marilla soils have a fine-loamy particle-size control section. Mosherville soils have distinct mottles within
12 inches of the soil surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ira soils are nearly level to moderately
steep soils on drumloidal land forms and nearly level to sloping soils areas on till plains. Slope gradients range from 1 to 20 percent. The soils developed in firm, mildly to moderately calcareous loamy glacial till dominated by red or gray sandstone
with variable components of limestone and shale. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 32 to 45 inches; mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 degrees to 49 degrees F.; and mean
growing season ranges from 120 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Alton,
Colonie,
Howard,
Scriba,
Sodus,
Sun,
Williamson and
Windsor soils. Alton
and Howard soils formed in glacial outwash deposits. Colonie, Windsor and Williamson soils formed in glacial lake and deltaic deposits. Scriba, somewhat poorly drained soils, Sodus, well
drained soils and Sun, very poorly to poorly drained soils, are catenary associates.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Runoff is medium to rapid; internal drainage is slow or very slow. The
solum above the fragipan has moderate permeability; the fragipan
and substratum have very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Much of the area is in unimproved
permanent pasture or is idle. Cropped areas are used for
growing hay, oats, and corn for silage. Sugar maple, red maple,
elm, red oak, yellow birch, and associated species dominate the cut-over woodlots, which occupy a major acreage.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: New York State. The series is
moderate in extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Oswego County, New York, 1973.
Remarks: The Ira soils were classified as Sols Bruns Acides.